I finally saw it last night, after setting up a camera and motion sensors. The predator that has been feasting on my beloved birds for the last several months, here and there. This last Sunday night, things took a turn for the worst when I was awaken to horrible noises in the backyard, I'll include the story below. Last night, however, my suspicions were confirmed that it was a bobcat. I saw it with my own 2 eyes. It does not have fear of humans, as it came up and sniffed the live feed camera an hour after I had set it up.
So far, I have tuna, mackerel, catnip, and clam juice to set my live trap with for tonight, along with a few dangly fishing lures. Last night I put a live chicken in a small cage in the trap and he walked right past it.
Story from Monday:
Well, another loss for me....Last night, the first peacock/peahen I ever owned, Cricket, was killed. This time I was woken up by a loud bang. I thought it was the dog knocking over the trashcan, but they were just as alarmed as me. Went outside with the flashlight, dogs, chased “something” over the side fence. I noticed Stewie the turkey, off his roost, sitting on a gate looking scared. Not a good sign. Went back to the roost area where he and the peafowl have always slept, and heard banging. It was Cricket, stuck between the big pen and a small pen, banging her wings. I pulled her from where she was wedged and her neck was broken and she quickly passed on. Couldn’t find or locate her 2 young ones, or the two other peahens and the juvenile they are raising. Found a huge pile of Crickets feathers on top of the 12 foot pen, realized that’s where she was ambushed. I went back inside, set up a motion sensor near Cricket’s body in the event the predator came back,and started looking up tricks to catch a bobcat, because I just knew that’s the only thing that could be doing this. I took pics of Cricket, just to keep documentation of predators.
Went out 2 hours later at 4 a.m., just to check on things again, and Cricket’s body was gone! I had the motion sensor set to silent and I never heard it. So mad at myself for that. I couldn’t find a feather of hers. The ONLY predator that could picked up her body and taken it 50 feet and over a 6 ft. privacy fence, without a trace, is a bobcat.
Now that the bobcat has a meal to feed on, it won’t be back for a few days, but I can assure you that the next visit this cat makes to my property for a meal will be its LAST. New trap will be locked and loaded waiting for it, with the bobcat lure of a live chicken to bring it in. (The chicken will be safe from harm in a small cage inside the pen).
That loud noise I later found out was my turkey hitting the shed. He's fine, but he slammed into it, probably fleeing the situation. I'm hoping that I find her two young ones when the sun comes up. I'll raise them and hope one is a girl.
ANY TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ON CATCHING THIS BOBCAT IN AN EXTRA LARGE LIVE TRAP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!
-Nathan
So far, I have tuna, mackerel, catnip, and clam juice to set my live trap with for tonight, along with a few dangly fishing lures. Last night I put a live chicken in a small cage in the trap and he walked right past it.
Story from Monday:
Well, another loss for me....Last night, the first peacock/peahen I ever owned, Cricket, was killed. This time I was woken up by a loud bang. I thought it was the dog knocking over the trashcan, but they were just as alarmed as me. Went outside with the flashlight, dogs, chased “something” over the side fence. I noticed Stewie the turkey, off his roost, sitting on a gate looking scared. Not a good sign. Went back to the roost area where he and the peafowl have always slept, and heard banging. It was Cricket, stuck between the big pen and a small pen, banging her wings. I pulled her from where she was wedged and her neck was broken and she quickly passed on. Couldn’t find or locate her 2 young ones, or the two other peahens and the juvenile they are raising. Found a huge pile of Crickets feathers on top of the 12 foot pen, realized that’s where she was ambushed. I went back inside, set up a motion sensor near Cricket’s body in the event the predator came back,and started looking up tricks to catch a bobcat, because I just knew that’s the only thing that could be doing this. I took pics of Cricket, just to keep documentation of predators.
Went out 2 hours later at 4 a.m., just to check on things again, and Cricket’s body was gone! I had the motion sensor set to silent and I never heard it. So mad at myself for that. I couldn’t find a feather of hers. The ONLY predator that could picked up her body and taken it 50 feet and over a 6 ft. privacy fence, without a trace, is a bobcat.
Now that the bobcat has a meal to feed on, it won’t be back for a few days, but I can assure you that the next visit this cat makes to my property for a meal will be its LAST. New trap will be locked and loaded waiting for it, with the bobcat lure of a live chicken to bring it in. (The chicken will be safe from harm in a small cage inside the pen).
That loud noise I later found out was my turkey hitting the shed. He's fine, but he slammed into it, probably fleeing the situation. I'm hoping that I find her two young ones when the sun comes up. I'll raise them and hope one is a girl.
ANY TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ON CATCHING THIS BOBCAT IN AN EXTRA LARGE LIVE TRAP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!
-Nathan
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